Those who consume eight or more alcoholic beverages a week have an increased risk of brain damage called glassy atherosclerosis. This is noted by a study published online in the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Glassy atherosclerosis is a condition that causes narrowing of small blood vessels, which become thick and rigid. This makes it difficult for blood flow, which can damage the brain over time. It appears as areas of damaged tissue in the brain.

The researchers examined how alcohol affects the brain as people grow up and find that heavy alcohol consumption is harmful to the brain and can lead to memory and thought problems.

The ranking based on drinks

The study studied a brain tissue of 1,781 people who had an average age of 75 years of age. Everyone had undergone brain autopsy. The aim of the researchers was to look for signs of brain damage. They also measured the weight of the brain and the height of each participant. Family members answered questions about the alcohol consumption of participants.

They then categorized the data into four groups, for people who never drank, their moderate drinkers they drank seven or fewer drinks a week, the intense drinkers (heavy drinkers) who consumed eight or more drinks the week and those who have been heavy drinkers in the past.

The researchers designated a drink as containing 14 grams of alcohol, corresponding to about 350 ml of beer, 150 ml of wine or 45 ml of distilled alcoholic beverages.

What applies to intense drinkers

After adjusting for factors that could affect brain health, such as age at death, smoking and physical activity, it was found that heavy drinkers had 133% more likely to have vascular brain damage Compared to those who never drank, the former drinkers were 89% more likely and the average drinkers 60%.

It was also identified that heavy drinkers died on average 13 years earlier by those who never drank. In addition, heavy drinkers and former drinkers were more likely to develop neuroinidal baits, a biomarker associated with the disease Alzheimer’swith 41% and 31% more likely, respectively.

Intense alcohol consumption in the past was associated with a lower ratio of brain mass, that is, a lower rate of brain mass compared to body mass, and worst cognitive abilities. No relationship was found between moderate or intense alcohol consumption and brain mass or cognitive abilities.

Researchers note that the study does not prove that intense alcohol consumption causes brain damage, but shows a correlation. One restriction of the study was that it did not examine the participants before death and had no information on the duration of alcohol consumption and their cognitive abilities.